Armadillo Jalapeño Hot Sauce

I call this the armadillo, because when it hits your tongue, the tongue wants to curl into a ball and hide. Fortunately our tongues are not armadillos, so the fresh, green aftertaste informed with the delicate nuance of herbs and spices will shine through, and the tongue will be glad it stuck around. So, gird your lions, tell your tongue that rainbows follow storms, and make this as soon as you can get your hands on some jalapeños. This ferments for 5 – 7 days, then gets a tweaking, and ferments for another 3 – 5 days. No airlock jar is needed, because as you can see from this day 2 photo, I stand the jar on its head every other day.

450 g jalapeño peppers, stems off, seeds in, diced

½ cup fish sauce

1 child’s handful of garlic, diced

1 tbsp honey vinegar (or other vinegar)

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp tamarind paste

1 tbsp raw honey

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp mature sauerkraut brine (optional)

½ tsp ground star anise

½ tsp allspice (pimento)

6 large Mexican coriander leaves, diced

12 hot oregano leaves, diced

Combine all the ingredients in the first list, put them in a jar, seal airtight, then upend the jar every second day (one day upright, one day on its head, etc.)

After 5 – 7 days, add the ingredients from the second list, then ferment for a few to 5 days more. Move to the fridge in the jar it fermented in, or decant to smaller jars.